We Stand Together
by NaturalDreamer
Summary: One-Shot for "Inseparable Beings: The Old Version". This one is another pleasure read.


_**Reminder: This one-shot takes places after chapter nineteen and before chapter twenty. Also, I fixed a lot of grammar and added some thing that would make the one-shot go smoother. This is another pleasure reading, so please no criticism for this one either. Thank you for reading this.  
**_

* * *

"..."

Rukia is lost. She looks down at the paper that has directions on it and sweat drops. The directions look like scribbles. Sighing, she scans the area. Rukia is probably close to the bookstore...or maybe not. Closing her eyes, she remembers the conversation she had with the elderly woman.

"_You know, I have a friend that runs a book store in Station Square." The woman told her._

"_Oh? What is the book store called?" Rukia asked, very interested._

"_Hm...let's see... I believe it's called the 'Noru Bookstore'." the woman answered._

"_I see. I'll look into it when we get back. Thank you." Rukia thanked the lady._

"_Oh, it is no problem, dear." the woman said with a smile._

The woman was kind enough to give her directions. Though, Rukia is having a hard time understanding a word of it. It's in English, but the handwriting is foreign to her. Stuffing the paper in her pocket, she starts walking. Might as well look around. Taking her time in observing her surroundings, she notices some tough human men in the area. She certainly stands out. A purple Echidna in a place where a lot of tough looking people gather. Rukia can only hope that none of them approach her.

"Hey freak, where ya goin'?" A gruff voice asks her.

Fate seems to be against her today. Mentally sighing to herself, Rukia looks up to see a big bald man.

His eyes are an icy blue. Tattoos are on both of his arms. Black and red snakes to be exact. The snakes intertwine as if embracing each other. He's wearing a white tank top with some cut up jeans. To finish it off, he is wearing brown shoes.

Rukia didn't say anything as she looks ahead. Soon, three men join him and surround her. She remains unfazed.

"Hey, the boss asked you a question." One of his men tells her.

"You wouldn't want to make him angry." Another man informs her.

Rukia remains silent.

True, she can ask the man directions. However, she doubts she can trust his word since he looks like a troublemaker. That, and he called her a freak. Like hell she's going to ask him after he said that.

"Where I go is none of your business. Now, please move." Rukia briefly tells him.

A vein appears on the side of his head and he grabs a hold of Rukia's shirt. Rukia narrow her eyes dangerously at him. She puts a hand on his and clenches it. He brings his fist back. He was about to hit her when a voice yells out.

"Hey, pick on someone your own size!" a male voice shouts.

"...Am I really that short?" Rukia mutters to herself.

Rukia and the men look to the side to see three human teenagers. Two boys and one girl.

The girl has long brown hair. It's in a high ponytail. Two strands of hair is beside her face. Her eyes are hazel. She is wearing a soft yellow dress with a white long sleeved shrug over top. A brown belt is around her waist and her ankle boots are the same color. The last clothing is the black panty hose.

The first boy has short blond messy hair. His eyes are green. He has a band-aid on his left cheek, though Rukia isn't sure if there's a cut there or not. He is wearing a red short sleeved shirt with a green and black dragon going around the shirt. He's wearing a pair of baggy black shorts with a chain that went from his waist to his right pocket. His sneakers are black and green.

The other boy has black short hair. His right ear is pierced and the eyes are dark blue. He is wearing a blue tank top with a black sleeveless jacket on top. On the back of the jacket is a white tear drop. He's wearing a pair of blue jeans that has some holes in some places and black combat boots. His right hand has silver rings on his pointy finger and ring finger. His left hand has silver rings on his middle and pinky finger. The last thing is a black wrist guard on both of his wrists. Imprinted on the wrist guards is a blue 'V'. They all look fifteen to her. The boss growls at them.

"Always have to interfere, don't ya Chase?" the boss sneers at him.

"Well, I have to. You guys are always causing trouble. Who else is going to stop you?" the blond, Chase, flicks his nose with his thumb and smirks at him.

"Are you alright?" the girl asks Rukia.

Rukia glances at the boss before turning back at the girl. She gives her a brief nod. The girl sighs in relief. The boss raises his other arm to point at the teenagers. He gives his men an order to attack. They obey. The three teenagers prepared themselves. The three men charge at them with a war cry. Rukia snaps her attention back at the boss. Opening her mouth, she bites his hand. The boss yells as he drops Rukia. As soon as her feet touch the ground, she jumps and head butts him. He falls back and lands on the ground. Three of his men stop to look at their boss. Rukia grabs his left foot and starts swinging his body around. Everyone can only stare, surprised that a small creature can pick up a heavy man. Suddenly, the boss flies off and hits all three of his men. The teenagers dodge out of the way as they fly by them and hit a wall. Rukia stares at the brown shoe in her hand. Throwing it over her shoulder, she runs over to the teenagers. She takes the girl's hand and runs off. Chase and the other boy look at each other before they run after her.

"After...them... Ugh... My head." the boss weakly orders them. However, they couldn't move since he's above them.

Rukia turns to every corner there is. The girl is surprisingly catching up. Chase and the other boy is right behind them. Before Rukia can turn another corner, the girl pulls her back. Rukia stops and narrows her eyes confusingly at the young female.

"This way." the girl drags her to another direction.

Having no choice, she follows her. They ran for a while until all of them stop to catch their breath. Rukia stands there as she senses no other humans nearby. They are safe for the time being. Chase is the first to catch his breath. He looks at Rukia for a while before he snaps his fingers.

"You're Sonic the Hedgehog, aren't you?" Chase exclaims as he points at her.

_Silence_

A cold breeze brushes by them. Rukia gives Chase a dull look, not sure what to say at the moment. In other words, she is speechless. The girl walks up to Chase and flicks his forehead. He winces and rubs his forehead.

"What was that for?!" Chase shouts at her.

"This isn't Sonic! It's someone else!" the girl yells right back at him.

"What? Really?" Chase looks at Rukia in surprise.

The girl just sighs at him before turning around to face Rukia. She walks up to her and bends down to her height. They are now eye to eye. The girl gives her a warm smile.

"I'm sorry about Chase. He can be a little...slow." the girl apologies.

"A little?" the other boy speaks up with a doubtful expression.

"Okay, he's really slow." the girl says.

"HEY! I'm not slow!" Chase defends himself.

"You just keep telling yourself that." the boy tells him.

Soon, the two boys end up bickering. The two girls watch with amusement in their eyes. Giggling, the girl turns to look at Rukia again.

"My name is Layla. The boy over there is Vincent and you already know Chase's name. What's your name?" the girl, Layla, introduces herself and the boy.

"Rukia." Rukia answers.

"Rukia...It's a nice name." Layla compliments with a smile.

Rukia bows her head at her compliment. Standing straight, she continues to watch the two bicker. Seeing as though they are safe, she begins to walk off. This catches Chase and Vincent's attention.

"Hey, where are you going?" Chase asks her.

"I am grateful for your help, however I must be going. There is a place that I want to see." Rukia tells them as she continues to walk.

"Do you know where it is?" Vincent asks her.

Rukia stops walking and looks back at them. Taking out the piece of paper, she stares at it with a lost expression. Chase walks over to her and looks at the paper. All he can see is a messy handwriting. Though, he did make out the word "Noru".

"You want to go to "Noru's Bookstore"? We'll take you there. It's practically our second home." Chase assures her.

Before she can say anything, Chase takes her hand and drags her to the location. Layla and Vincent follow them. They went through many alleyways until they came up to a small building. It's the bookstore that Rukia's looking for.

The shop looks comforting to her. The wall has white bricks with a soft brown roof. A large window is beside the brown door. On the door, there's a yellow book symbol at the bottom. The sign "Noru's Bookstore" is hanging from the roof.

Letting go of her hand, Chase walks up to the door. As soon as he enters, they hear a bell. Rukia walks up behind him and enters the building. Glancing around, she notices many book shelves. Some are lined up against the walls and there are others in the middle of the room. In the corner, there is a table with some comfy brown chairs. Layla walks over to the counter and taps the bell. The sound of the bell echoes in the room as they wait for someone to come out. A couple of seconds have pass before someone comes out from the back.

It is an elderly man who has light blue eyes that hold kindness and warmth. His hair is white with some brown stripes here and there. He wears a brown turtle neck sweater with a pair of white pants. He is wearing brown shoes with short white socks. Around the turtleneck is a necklace that has a gold ring hanging from the chain.

"Oh? Did you three forget something?" the elderly man asks them.

"Nope. Rukia here wanted to come to this place." Chase introduces Rukia.

"Why, hello there. My name is Stein. It is nice to meet a new face." the elderly man, Stein, introduces himself with a warm smile.

"Pleased to meet you." Rukia bows her head politely to him.

"We found her with Jack. He was causing trouble again." Vincent tells him.

"Again?" Stein sighs as he puts a book away.

"Right. Though, Rukia took care of him before we could do anything." Layla remembers.

All of them look over to see Rukia looking at some books on the shelves. Her mind is elsewhere it seems. Shaking his head, Chase takes out the paper Rukia was holding before and looks at it again.

"Man, this hand writing is terrible. Did a five year old do this?" Chase wonders.

"An elderly woman wrote that." Rukia answers, not looking at the group.

"... Oh."

As Rukia continues to explore the place, the four humans talk with each other. Their conversations are lively and sometimes the two boys would bicker. Seeing a couple of books she likes, she picks them out and walks over to the counter. Rukia looks at the height of the counter and sighs.

There are times where she hates being small.

Seeing that she needs help, Vincent picks up the books and places them on the counter. The teenagers look at the stack and saw that there are at least five books. Rukia polietly thanks him. Chase whistles in amusement.

"How much is this?" Rukia asks the elderly man, Stein.

"It's on the house. Consider them a gift from me." Stein tells her with a smile.

"Oh, thank you very much." Rukia thanks him as she bows her head.

"It's no problem. Let me know what you think after you're done reading them." Stein places the books in some bags and hands them to her.

"I will. Thank you again." Rukia takes the bags and carries them in both of her hands.

Rukia and the teenagers walk outside. Stein follows them and stands by the door.

"I guess we'll be on our way as well. Talk to you soon, Sir Stein!" Chase bids him farewell.

"See you another time!" Layla waves at him.

"Take care, professor." Vincent nods at him.

"You too Vincent. See you four another time." Stein smiles at them.

Rukia bows to Stein, thankful for the books. The four of them left. After walking for a while, Rukia notices that it's late. There's only a little bit of color left in the dark blue sky, so it's probably around six. Turning to the others, she bows her head to them. The three of them stop to look at her.

"I believe this is where we should part ways. I need to go home." Rukia informs them.

"Yeah, we need to go home too. Our parents are probably worried." Chase places his hands behind his head.

"Are you going to be okay on your own?" Layla asks her, worried that Jack might come back.

"I will be fine. In fact, I won't be going home alone." Rukia assures them as she senses Sonic's presence nearby.

All of them gave her a look of confusion. Suddenly, someone runs past them. Sonic skids to a stop and runs back to Rukia's side. The three of them stare at Sonic in awe. Sonic gives them a thumbs up and grins.

"Yo! Did you take good care of Rukia?" Sonic asks them.

Speechless, they nod at him. Sonic chuckles at their surprise expressions. He then picks Rukia up and holds her bridal style. Rukia has a strong grip on the bags, not wanting to let them go. Before they leave, Rukia turns her attention to them.

"You three, be careful on your way home. See you another time then." Rukia advises them.

"Wait! Before you go, are you two...you know...dating?" Layla asks her.

"No. We're just friends." Rukia answers with a straight face.

"Wow. Blunt and to the point. Very convincing." Chase tells her.

"What about you three? Who's chasing who, I wonder?" Rukia inquires.

All three of them blush at the question. Rukia smirks at their silence and chuckles. With a quick wave, Sonic runs off with Rukia in his arms.

* * *

A week has pass by since Rukia last visited the bookstore. Rukia is in the living room, reading her last book. Cream and Cheese are dancing in front of the television as usual. Amy is in the kitchen with Ella. Tails is in the garage with Chris and Chuck. Sonic is out on his 'walk'. Mr. Tanaka is busy organizing some things. It's just peaceful right now. That is until the news turn on.

"_**We interrupt this program to bring you live on this disturbing scene,**_" Rukia stops reading and looks up from her book to the television," _**A bookstore owned by Noru Stein is on fire. Right behind me, you can see that the firefighters are dealing with the fire now. Luckily, the fire didn't reach other buildings in the area.**_" Scarlet reports, a building behind her in flames.

"How horrible. I hope nobody was hurt... Miss Rukia?" Cream calls out when she catches Rukia's horrified expression.

An open book is laying on the ground. Rukia runs out the room without any hesitation. Rukia pushes the doors open and heads outside. Sonic passes Rukia on his way to the mansion. He runs into the living room with a confused expression.

"Did something happen?" Sonic asks Cream.

"Miss Rukia ran out as soon as she saw the news." Cream answers.

Sonic looks at the news to see a bookstore on fire. On screen, the camera shows Chase and Vincent taking care of a distressed Stein. Not saying a word, Sonic runs out as well. Rukia senses Sonic's presence from behind and looks over her shoulder. He runs beside her, takes her hand without saying a word, and hurries off to the bookstore. With Sonic's speed, they arrive at the place in a couple of seconds. Letting go of his hand, Rukia jogs over to Stein and the two boys. Chase is the first one to notice her. He calls out to her. The other two look over at her.

"Is everyone alright?" Rukia asks.

"Yes, we're fine. Though, Layla..." Chase clenches his fist, his teeth grinding.

"What happened?" Rukia questions him, narrowing her eyes.

"She's been kidnapped." Vincent informs her.

Chase explains what happened to Rukia. Chase received a letter today from Jack about Layla. It said that Jack kidnapped her and is waiting for them in an abandoned warehouse. He especially wants Rukia there, seeing as though she's the one who humiliated him. If they contact the cops, then he can't promise that she will be safe.

"How did she get kidnapped?" Rukia asks them.

"Layla wanted to go home by herself yesterday. So, we went our separate ways." Chase answers.

"..." Rukia sighs as she covers her eyes with one hand and shakes her head.

"I know what your thinking, but she insisted on going home by herself. Something about wanting to surprise her parents." Chase explains.

"... Where is this abandoned warehouse?" Rukia asks them.

"We'll take you there." Vincent stands and looks over at a random direction.

"I'll join you guys." Sonic tells them.

"Awesome." Chase, despite the situation, grins at this.

"Keep your distance though. You'll never know if he might surprise us." Rukia instructs him.

"Alright."

Once that was settled, Sonic runs off to keep his distance. Rukia nods at the boys and they set off to the warehouse.

* * *

"Hey boss, they're here." a man speaks in the radio.

"_Good. Send them in._" Jack's voice orders from the radio.

The two guards open up the gate and the three head towards the door.

Old equipment lay forgotten on dead grass. The building looks old and has vines on the walls. The place looks like it's about to collapse at any moment.

Vicent and Chase open the doors. It's dark inside, though Rukia can sense Jack and Layla's presence nearby. As soon as they entered, the doors close behind them. Vincent and Chase look back to see two people leaning against the doors with a smirk. Rukia only looks ahead as the lights turn on. Looking up, they see Jack with Layla right beside him. He has a tight grip on her arm, not letting her go. Surrounding them are several men with different, deadly objects in their hands. Stepping forward, Rukia glares coldly at Jack.

"Nice for ya to join us." Jack sneers at them.

"Did you set Stein-san's bookstore on fire?!" Chase shouts at him.

"Maybe I did. What are ya going to do about it?" Jack looks unfazed by his shouting.

"I'm going to kick your ass, that's what!" Chase growls, being held back by Vincent.

"Calm down." Vincent grunts while struggling to hold him back.

"What is it that you want?" Rukia asks the older man in front of her.

"I want ya to fight. If ya win, ya can have this girl back. If ya lose, well...ya get to become my little pet." Jack answers.

"NO! Don't do it! There's too many of them!" Layla persists.

"Shut it, girl. Well, what will it be? Will ya fight? Or run like cowards?" Jack taunts them.

"I never run away from a fight." Rukia answers with a cool tone.

Before anyone could move, Layla slams her heel on Jack's foot. He yells out in pain before letting go of her. Layla immediately starts running. Cursing to himself, he orders his men to attack and the battle begins. Jack runs after Layla. Rukia quickly observes her surroundings. The Echidna's eyes catches sight of some stairs nearby and she runs in that direction. Of course, some of the men block her way, but she does not stop running. Rukia jumps and kicks a man in the face. He twists his body and flies off in a random direction. When he flew, he took others with him. Landing on the ground, Rukia looks over at her shoulder to the boys.

"You two! Go after Layla! I'll take care of these guys." Rukia shouts at them.

"What? We can't leave you here by yourself!" Chase yells back at her.

"Go! Layla needs you!" Rukia shouts back at him, not budging from her spot.

The boys look at each other before running to where Layla is. Both of them pass Rukia and head towards the stairs. Rukia clenches her fist as her eyes begin to narrow, glaring at the nearby grown males. Rukia's eyes glow as she slowly walks to the center of the room.

"Besides, I won't be fighting them alone."

Both of them stop at the stairs to look at her. Rukia stops and stands proudly in the middle of the room, looking at the nearby doors. Out of nowhere, they hear banging sounds from behind the heavy doors. The guards look at the door in confusion, goosebumps starting to form. Suddenly, a bulge is seen on the metal surface. Both of the men jump in surprise, not expecting that. Soon, the doors come off of their hinges and flew across the room. Rukia stands still, the doors flying over her head. She remains calm as the beaten doors slam against the wall behind her. The men, who were in the way, have dodged in time. Chase and Vincent stare in awe. Then, they all hear a sharp whistle. Everyone turn their heads to see Sonic standing where the doors were. Right beside him is Knuckles.

"Hope we didn't miss the party." Sonic jokes as he walks right in.

"No. It's about to begin." Rukia tilts her head at Chase and Vincent, mouthing them to 'go on'.

Recognizing the words, the two run off to help Layla. The three of them are back to back as they stare at the humans. One of the humans recognize Sonic and backs up.

"That's Sonic! The one who defeated that Eggman guy!" the man informs them.

Well, that certainly made some of the humans back off. If this hedgehog can defeat Eggman easily, what chances do they have?

That's when half of them ran off. The rest remain behind to face the three. Sonic runs around the place, confusing the humans. He runs around them to make them dizzy. Rukia and Knuckles run up to the humans. They start punching and kicking them like crazy. The humans didn't stand a chance. Rukia dodges to the left when a man swings a bat down. She grabs the bat, twists her body around, and throws the bat over her shoulder. The man was stupid enough to hang onto the bat as he lands on his back. Taking the bat away from him, she throws it off to the side and continues to fight. Knuckles is just punching everyone around him, making a lot of men go unconscious. Sonic is playing with them. Whenever they are close to him, he would run off and be somewhere else in the room. This process continues for a while until he run towards them. He runs under them and sends them flying in the air. The men didn't land so gracefully on the ground. Noticing a chain, Rukia runs over and grabs a hold of some.

"Sonic, here!" Rukia shouts at him as she throws the chain at him.

Sonic catches the chain and starts running around. Knuckles throws some men into the circle. Sonic runs around them. The chain traps the men inside and they are bind. No escape for them. Knuckles throws a lock over to Sonic. He catches it and locks the chains together. The fight is now over. Rukia looks over at Knuckles.

"Were you looking for the Chaos Emeralds?" Rukia asks him.

"Yeah. I was searching around here when I noticed Sonic. I went up to him and asked what's wrong. He explained the situation to me. Once he was done, I decided to lend a hand." Knuckles explains.

Rukia nods and thanks him for his help. Rukia looks over her shoulder to see the teenagers coming down the stairs with a beat up Jack. They hear police sirens from a distance and all of them walk out to greet them. Thirty minutes pass by and the policemen are all over the place. Rukia watches the police arrest several men and Jack. Rukia walks up to Jack and looks at him. He merely sneers at her.

"What do ya want?" Jack mutters.

"Did you really burn down the bookstore?" Rukia asks him.

"My answer is still the same." Jack smirks at her.

"In you go." The policeman pushes Jack's head down and closes the door.

Rukia watches the car drive off. Once the car disappears around the corner, she walks over to the teenagers. The paramedics are taking care of Vincent and Chase's injuries. Luckily, they're not serious. Just some bruises and scratches. Layla is sitting with them. She looks a bit dirty, but she isn't hurt. Rukia stops in front of them.

"You guys won't have to worry about that guy again." Rukia tells them.

"Good riddance. Nobody will miss him." Chase stretches.

Rukia chuckles at his response. They talk for a while until three different type of cars drive by. The cars stop and people start coming out. The teenagers look up and their eyes brighten up at the sight. Layla is the first to stand and run towards them.

"Mom! Dad!" Layla calls out to them.

Layla reaches them and hugs them tightly. Chase and Vincent walk up to their own parents. A man looks over Chase injuries to make sure he's alright. Vincent is being hugged by his mother. Rukia smiles a little at the scene before she walks over to Knuckles and Sonic. Giving them one last glance, all three of them left the place. Layla opens her eyes and watches Rukia leave with her friends. She is in the middle while Sonic is on her left and Knuckles on her right. Layla smiles to herself.

_I wonder if Rukia will fall in love with one of them._

* * *

**I hope you enjoyed this!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters. Rukia, Layla, Chase, Vincent, and Stein are the only characters I own.**


End file.
